Why did Jesus fast for 40 days?

To face temptation in the wilderness as Israel faced its forty years — and to overcome where the people had fallen. Moses and Elijah also spent forty days before God (Exodus 24:18; 1 Kings 19:8).

What did Jesus do in the 40 days after the resurrection?

He showed himself alive to the disciples by many proofs and spoke with them about the kingdom of God, until he ascended (Acts 1:3).

Hebrew word · Strong H705

What does the number 40 mean in the Bible?

In the Bible, 40 marks a time of testing and preparation that ends in a new beginning. It rained forty days in the flood (Genesis 7:12), Moses spent forty days on the mountain (Exodus 24:18), Israel wandered forty years in the wilderness and Jesus fasted forty days before beginning his ministry (Matthew 4:2).

The number 40 in Hebrew

אַרְבָּעִים

ʼarbâʻîym · transliteration · ar-baw-eem' · pronunciation

In Strong’s lexicon: forty
In the King James: forty120
fortieth4
Appears in: 124 verses

See the full H705 entry →Also in the lexicon: G5062 τεσσαράκοντα

What 40 stands for

The forty years in the wilderness came as the consequence of unbelief — “shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years” (Numbers 14:34) — but they were also the time when God fed his people with manna and taught them to depend on him. Elijah walked forty days to the mountain of God (1 Kings 19:8).

In the New Testament, Jesus' forty days in the wilderness echo Israel's forty years: where the people fell, he stayed faithful. And after the resurrection Jesus spent forty days with his disciples, speaking of the kingdom of God, before he ascended (Acts 1:3). 40 is not a magic deadline: it is the time God uses to form his people.

Where the number 40 appears

Genesis 7:12

And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.

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Exodus 24:18

And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.

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Matthew 4:2

And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

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Acts 1:3

To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:

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Frequently asked questions

Why did Jesus fast for 40 days?: To face temptation in the wilderness as Israel faced its forty years — and to overcome where the people had fallen. Moses and Elijah also spent forty days before God (Exodus 24:18; 1 Kings 19:8).
What did Jesus do in the 40 days after the resurrection?: He showed himself alive to the disciples by many proofs and spoke with them about the kingdom of God, until he ascended (Acts 1:3).

What 40 stands for

Where the number 40 appears

Genesis 7:12

Exodus 24:18

Matthew 4:2

Acts 1:3

Frequently asked questions

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